Boss GX-100 presets and settings
Floor unit with a colour touch screen, eight footswitches and a built-in expression pedal. Up to 15 effects per memory, two of them amps, in 200 user and 100 preset memories.
⚡ Match a tone on this gearHow do you dial in a specific tone on a Boss GX-100?
A multi-effects unit gives you the whole chain in one box, which means the order of the blocks is as much of the answer as the values inside them. Settings for the Boss GX-100 name the amp model, the block order and the parameters together, rather than handing you numbers with no chain to put them in.
Name the song you are chasing and Tonelify returns the settings for this exact multi-effects unit, not the settings the original artist used. Those are two different things: the recording was made on gear most players do not own.
Starting settings on the Boss GX-100
Values as the unit's screen shows them, on its own scale; each drawn knob shows that value's share of the range. They are where to begin, not Boss's numbers: pick the amp model first, then move one control at a time from here.
Clean
TWIN COMBO preamp type, which BOSS says models a Fender Twin Reverb. Gain 30, Bass 50, Middle 50, Treble 60, Presence 40, with GAIN SW on MID. The GX-100's Gain runs from 0 to 120 and its tone controls from 0 to 100, and BOSS builds each type's sound around the MID position of the three-way GAIN SW. JC-120 models the Roland JC-120, and NATURAL is the type BOSS describes as an unembellished clean without an amp's trebly character and boomy low end.
- Gain 30
- Bass 50
- Middle 50
- Treble 60
- Presence 40
Edge of breakup and blues
DELUXE COMBO, BOSS's model of a Fender Deluxe Reverb, or TWEED COMBO, its model of a Fender Bassman 4x10 combo. Gain 50, Bass 45, Middle 60, Treble 55, Presence 45. DIAMOND AMP models a VOX AC30, and X-CRUNCH is BOSS's own crunch, built on its MDP processing for a crisp tone from all strings.
- Gain 50
- Bass 45
- Middle 60
- Treble 55
- Presence 45
Classic rock
BRIT STACK, which BOSS says models a Marshall 1959. Gain 60, Bass 50, Middle 65, Treble 60, Presence 50. Keep the mids up: rock guitar sits in the midrange, and scooping it is the usual reason a patch sounds thin next to a band. MAXIMUM is BOSS's own amp in the same family: the response and tone of a vintage Marshall with higher gain, in BOSS's words. For more drive without touching the knobs, move GAIN SW from MID to HIGH.
- Gain 60
- Bass 50
- Middle 65
- Treble 60
- Presence 50
Metal
RECTI STACK, which BOSS bases on the Channel 2 Modern mode of a MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier, or BGNR UB METAL, the high-gain channel of a Bogner Uberschall. Gain 80, Bass 55, Middle 45, Treble 60, Presence 50. JUGGERNAUT is BOSS's own large stack, tweaked for metal. Add the NOISE SUPPRESSOR and raise its Threshold only until the hiss between chords goes: BOSS says to set it so the decay of the guitar still sounds natural. For tighter palm mutes, put OVERDRIVE on its T-SCREAM type (BOSS: a model of the Ibanez TS-808) before the preamp with Drive low and Level up, and take the preamp's Gain down a step.
- Gain 80
- Bass 55
- Middle 45
- Treble 60
- Presence 50
Add T-SCREAM before the preamp for tighter palm mutes.
Lead
Every AIRD preamp has a SOLO SW, which BOSS describes as switching to a tone suited to solos, with its own SOLO LEVEL. It is one of the parameters ASSIGN SETTING can give to a footswitch, which puts the lead boost one press away. The BOOSTER's MID BOOST type is the other route; BOSS says that placing it before the AIRD preamp gives a sound suitable for solos. A memory can also hold two AIRD preamps with a divider that switches between its A and B channels, so a rhythm amp and a lead amp fit in one memory. Ten of the presets set CTL1 to DIV CH SELECT, which switches the divider channel.
Boss GX-100 amp list
The AIRD PREAMP has 23 types for guitar and the AIRD BASS PREAMP has 9 for bass. BOSS names what 11 of the guitar types and 7 of the bass types model; the rest are BOSS's own designs, and the row gives BOSS's description of the sound. One memory can hold two AIRD preamps.
| Preamp type | For | What BOSS says it is |
|---|---|---|
| TRANSPARENT | Guitar | A broad frequency range and an extremely flat response; good for acoustic guitar |
| NATURAL | Guitar | An unembellished clean that minimises an amp's trebly character and boomy low end |
| BOUTIQUE | Guitar | A crunch that lets picking nuances through more faithfully than conventional combo amps |
| SUPREME | Guitar | A crunch that responds to picking, with the character of a 4x12 cabinet |
| MAXIMUM | Guitar | The response and tone of a vintage Marshall, with higher gain |
| JUGGERNAUT | Guitar | A large stack sound tweaked for metal |
| X-CRUNCH | Guitar | A crunch that uses MDP for a crisp tone from all strings |
| X-HI GAIN | Guitar | A high-gain sound that uses MDP for a wide range and a sense of separation |
| X-MODDED | Guitar | A core sound that uses MDP to keep its definition even at extreme gain |
| X-ULTRA | Guitar | A high-gain sound that uses MDP for a dense midrange with dynamics |
| X-OPTIMA | Guitar | A high-gain sound that uses MDP to stress balance for phrases and ensemble playing |
| X-TITAN | Guitar | A tight high-gain sound with an edge, which uses MDP |
| JC-120 | Guitar | Roland JC-120 |
| TWIN COMBO | Guitar | Fender Twin Reverb |
| DELUXE COMBO | Guitar | Fender Deluxe Reverb |
| TWEED COMBO | Guitar | Fender Bassman 4x10 combo |
| DIAMOND AMP | Guitar | VOX AC30 |
| BRIT STACK | Guitar | Marshall 1959 |
| RECTI STACK | Guitar | MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier, Channel 2 in Modern mode |
| MATCH COMBO | Guitar | Matchless D/C-30, left input |
| BG COMBO | Guitar | A MESA/Boogie combo amp |
| ORNG STACK | Guitar | Orange Rockerverb, dirty channel |
| BGNR UB METAL | Guitar | Bogner Uberschall, high-gain channel |
| NATURAL BASS | Bass | An uncoloured clean sound for bass |
| X-DRIVE BASS | Bass | A high-gain bass sound that uses MDP for a wide range and a sense of separation |
| CONCERT | Bass | Ampeg SVT |
| STUDIO BASS | Bass | Markbass Little Mark III |
| SILVER TUBE | Bass | Fender Bassman 100 |
| CLASSIC BLUE | Bass | Acoustic 360 |
| SOLID STACK | Bass | Gallien-Krueger 800RB |
| FAT TUBE | Bass | Orange AD200B MKIII |
| DARK DRV | Bass | Darkglass Electronics Microtubes B7K |
Boss GX-100 effects list
BOSS counts 170 effect types. A memory holds up to 15 effects, plus the divider and mixer, the send/return and the phrase loop, in any order. Where BOSS names the pedal a type models, it is in brackets. MDP is BOSS's name for processing that treats each part of the signal by its pitch range and dynamics.
- COMPRESSOR (3 types)
- BOSS COMP (BOSS CS-3), D-COMP (MXR Dyna Comp), ORANGE (Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer)
- BOOSTER (3 types)
- MID BOOST, CLEAN BOOST, TREBLE BOOST
- OVERDRIVE (9 types)
- NATURAL OD, WARM OD, BLUES OD (BOSS BD-2), OD-1 (BOSS OD-1), SD-1 (BOSS SD-1), CRUNCH, T-SCREAM (Ibanez TS-808), TURBO OD (BOSS OD-2), CENTA OD (Klon Centaur)
- DISTORTION (8 types)
- DIST, DS-1 (BOSS DS-1), A-DIST, FAT DS, LEAD DS, RAT (ProCo RAT), GUV DS (Marshall Guv'nor), DIST+ (MXR Distortion+)
- METAL DISTORTION (4 types)
- METAL DS, METAL ZONE (BOSS MT-2), HM-2 (BOSS HM-2), METAL CORE (BOSS ML-2)
- FUZZ (3 types)
- OCT FUZZ, '60S FUZZ (Fuzz Face), MUFF FUZZ (Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi)
- MDP dynamics and drive
- X-COMPRESSOR, X OVERDRIVE, X DISTORTION
- Modulation
- CHORUS, PRIME CHORUS, FLANGER, PRIME FLANGER, PHASER, SCRIPT PHASER, PRIME PHASER, CLASSIC-VIBE, ROTARY, VIBRATO, PRIME VIBRATO, TREMOLO, PAN, RING MODULATOR, SLICER, HUMANIZER
- Pitch
- PITCH SHIFTER, HARMONIST, OVERTONE, OCTAVE, POLY OCTAVE, S-BEND, PEDAL BEND
- Delay
- DELAY, DELAY PLUS, ANALOG DELAY, SPACE ECHO, SHIMMER DELAY, TERA ECHO, TWIST, WARP
- Reverb
- REVERB, REVERB PLUS, SHIMMER REVERB
- Wah, filter and simulators
- WAH, TOUCH WAH, AUTO WAH, AC GUITAR SIMULATOR, AC RESONANCE, SITAR SIMULATOR, SLOW GEAR, DEFRETTER, FEEDBACKER
- Amp, EQ, level and routing
- AIRD PREAMP, PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER, GRAPHIC EQUALIZER, NOISE SUPPRESSOR, FOOT VOLUME, DIVIDER/MIXER, SEND/RETURN, PHRASE LOOP
- Bass effects
- AIRD BASS PREAMP, X-BASS COMPRESSOR, BASS OVERDRIVE, X BASS OVERDRIVE, BASS DISTORTION, BASS METAL DISTORTION, BASS FUZZ, BASS CHORUS, BASS FLANGER, PRIME BASS FLANGER, BASS PHASER, PRIME BASS PHASER, BASS PITCH SHIFTER, BASS HARMONIST, BASS OCTAVE, BASS SLOW GEAR, BASS DEFRETTER, BASS TOUCH WAH, BASS S-BEND, BASS WAH, BASS PEDAL BEND
Boss GX-100 preset list
The 100 preset memories sit in banks P01 to P25, four to a bank, and cannot be overwritten: copy one to a user memory, U01-1 to U50-4, to change it. P23 and P24 are bass presets and P25 holds four looper presets.
- P01 to P05
- P01-1 GX DUAL DRIVE, P01-2 HEAVY METAL, P01-3 STUDIO BLUES, P01-4 JC CLEAN, P02-1 LEAD DRIVE, P02-2 CRUNCH LEAD, P02-3 NEO SOUL, P02-4 MODERN OD, P03-1 MODERN DS, P03-2 CLEAN+SHIMMER, P03-3 MILD DRIVE, P03-4 ACOUSTIC GUITAR, P04-1 X-ULTRA FEED, P04-2 X-OPTIMA SD-1, P04-3 X-TITAN MDP, P04-4 DUAL X LEAD, P05-1 SLICER DRIVE, P05-2 HUMANIZER AC, P05-3 BRIGHT SITAR, P05-4 AUTO WAH BOX
- P06 to P10
- P06-1 FUZZY ROCK, P06-2 PHASER CLEAN, P06-3 BG DRIVE, P06-4 OCTAVE CLEAN, P07-1 HI-GAIN LEAD, P07-2 DIMENSION FL, P07-3 DRIVE + OCT CLN, P07-4 SYNTH LEAD, P08-1 RICH CHORUS DS, P08-2 BASIC GIG, P08-3 ROTARY+ECHO, P08-4 AMBIENT CLEAN, P09-1 FUSION SOLO, P09-2 TWEED DRIVE, P09-3 FLYING OVERTONE, P09-4 CONSOLE CLEAN, P10-1 DUAL CRUNCH, P10-2 FUZZ SOLO, P10-3 BOOST BAR BROS, P10-4 THE BELLS
- P11 to P15
- P11-1 WINDWARD, P11-2 ANCIENT MOON, P11-3 CAPO'S & NUTS, P11-4 WINTER IN 2047, P12-1 JAZZ CLUB, P12-2 GITARRE SPIELEN, P12-3 SLOW DANCE, P12-4 OVERTONE ORGAN, P13-1 NEW AGED BLUES, P13-2 SPACE ECHO, P13-3 CLEAR DRIVE, P13-4 GOOD FEELING, P14-1 SURF COWBOY, P14-2 AMERICANA, P14-3 TREBLE BOOST, P14-4 DIGITAL OCEAN, P15-1 FUNK DRIVE, P15-2 SUPER CLEAN/DS, P15-3 ANCIENT DREAM, P15-4 OCTAVE FUNK
- P16 to P20
- P16-1 GRAVITY GAINS, P16-2 AMBIENT LEAD, P16-3 DJENT METAL, P16-4 SKYBLUE PINK, P17-1 FUZZY DIST, P17-2 DIMI GILMORIX, P17-3 A LIGHTER TOUCH, P17-4 HARMONIC DIST, P18-1 PROUD DAD, P18-2 DRY CRUNCH, P18-3 OCTAVE CRUNCH, P18-4 FUSION SWELLS, P19-1 LO-FI CLEAN, P19-2 SLAP GUITAR, P19-3 1993, P19-4 OCTAVE ORGAN, P20-1 BIG DRIVE, P20-2 BLUE LAKE, P20-3 FAIRY OF FOREST, P20-4 HARMONIC DRIVE
- P21 to P25
- P21-1 PROG LEAD TONE, P21-2 CRYSTAL CLEAN, P21-3 CLEAN BOOSTER, P21-4 BUBBLE DELAY, P22-1 HOT COUNTRY, P22-2 EXPENSIVE TASTE, P22-3 SWAMP CHORUS, P22-4 EVERY 00'S MOVIE, P23-1 STUDIO BASS, P23-2 ROCK BASS CRUNCH, P23-3 CLEAN ROCK BASS, P23-4 T WAH BASS, P24-1 DIST ROCK BASS, P24-2 MONO BASS CLOUD, P24-3 SYNTHY OCT BASS, P24-4 FUZZ BASS, P25-1 LOOPER CLEAN, P25-2 LOOPER CRUNCH, P25-3 LOOPER DRIVE, P25-4 LOOPER -1OCT
Boss GX-100 specifications
- Released
- 2022
Boss GX-100 questions
What amps are in the Boss GX-100?
32 AIRD preamp types: 23 for guitar and 9 for bass. BOSS names the amp behind 11 of the guitar types: JC-120 (Roland JC-120), TWIN COMBO (Fender Twin Reverb), DELUXE COMBO (Fender Deluxe Reverb), TWEED COMBO (Fender Bassman 4x10 combo), DIAMOND AMP (VOX AC30), BRIT STACK (Marshall 1959), RECTI STACK (MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier, Channel 2 Modern), MATCH COMBO (Matchless D/C-30), BG COMBO (a MESA/Boogie combo), ORNG STACK (Orange Rockerverb dirty channel) and BGNR UB METAL (Bogner Uberschall high-gain channel). The other twelve, from TRANSPARENT and NATURAL to JUGGERNAUT and the six X types, are BOSS's own. The bass types include models of the Ampeg SVT, Markbass Little Mark III, Fender Bassman 100, Acoustic 360, Gallien-Krueger 800RB and Orange AD200B MKIII. The full table is below.
What do the AIRD preamp controls on the GX-100 do?
Gain runs from 0 to 120, and Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence from 0 to 100, with a Level for the whole preamp. GAIN SW picks one of three gain ranges, LOW, MID or HIGH, and BOSS builds each type's sound with it on MID. Sag sets how much the compression changes in response to the power amp, and Resonance how much the dynamics are shaped by the power amp and the speaker transformer working on each other, both from -10 to +10. A Bright switch appears on some types only. SP TYPE picks the cabinet, and MIC TYPE, MIC DISTANCE and MIC POSITION the microphone in front of it.
How many effects can the GX-100 run at once?
Up to 15 in one memory, drawn from the 170 effect types BOSS counts, plus the divider and mixer, the send/return and the phrase loop; BOSS adds that the limit depends on the circumstances. You drag the blocks into any order on the touch screen, and two of them can be AIRD preamps.
Which OUTPUT SELECT setting should you use on the GX-100?
Set it to what the OUTPUT jacks feed. LINE/PHONES is for headphones, a mixer, a keyboard amp or a recorder. For a guitar amp the settings come in pairs, one for the amp's INPUT and one for its RETURN: JC-120, KATANA-100 and KATANA-100/212 for those amps, and TUBE COMBO 112, TUBE COMBO 212 and TUBE STACK 412 for other valve amps with one 12 inch speaker, two, or a 4x12 cabinet. Two more cover bass amps, with and without a tweeter. BOSS's reference manual recommends an input that no preamp colours: a RETURN jack rather than the guitar input.
How do you save a memory on the GX-100?
Press WRITE, touch WRITE on the screen, choose the user memory with knob 1, from U01-1 to U50-4, name it, then touch EXEC or press WRITE again. There are 200 user memories and 100 presets, P01-1 to P25-4, which cannot be overwritten. An edit you do not save is lost when you switch memory or turn the unit off.
Can you load your own IRs into the GX-100?
Yes. SP TYPE has 16 user slots, USER1 to USER16, filled with a tool BOSS offers for download on its website; BOSS's launch release describes them as slots for importing WAV speaker IRs over USB. Without one, SP TYPE offers the ORIGINAL cabinet of the amp you picked and cabinets from a 1x8 to an 8x12 double stack, with nine microphone choices.
Does the Boss GX-100 have Bluetooth?
Not by itself. BOSS states that the GX-100 does not offer Bluetooth functionality: you add it with the BT-DUAL adaptor, sold separately, which fits a jack on the rear panel. With it you can play music from a phone through the unit and edit its effects from the phone app.
How long is the looper on the GX-100?
38 seconds in mono or 19 seconds in stereo. BOSS calls it the phrase loop, and it takes a place in the effect chain like any other block.
Can the Boss GX-100 run on batteries?
No. Its power supply is the included AC adaptor, and BOSS gives the current draw as 1.2 A. The unit weighs 3.5 kg and measures 460 by 193 mm, 73 mm high and 94 mm at its highest point.
What are the best Boss GX-100 settings for metal?
Start with RECTI STACK or BGNR UB METAL, Gain 80 of 120, Bass 55, Middle 45, Treble 60 and Presence 50, with the noise suppressor on and T-SCREAM before the preamp. These are starting points rather than BOSS's numbers. If it fizzes, lower Gain first and Treble second.
When did the Boss GX-100 come out?
BOSS announced it on 3 March 2022, with 23 AIRD amplifiers and more than 150 effects. Its Version 2.0 update later added three guitar amps built on MDP, six bass amps and seven effect types, which is how the count reached 32 amps and more than 170 effects.
How do you build a patch on the Boss GX-100?
Pick the amp model first, then set its controls, then add the blocks in signal-chain order: drive before the amp, time and modulation after it. A patch built the other way around ends up compensating for the wrong stage. Tonelify returns the model, the order and the parameters together.
Does Tonelify support the Boss GX-100?
Yes. Name it in the tone matcher along with the song you are chasing and the settings come back adapted to it. Gear does not need to be in the catalog for a match to run.
Sources
Panel, specifications and dates checked against these on .